


The Same Chains That I Kept You In

by heartsdesire456



Series: Fangs & Fur [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magazine, Backstory, Canonical Character Death, Falling In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Marriage, Romance, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-04
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-18 03:25:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1413271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of how Peter and Chris got together in the Fangs & Fur 'verse</p><p> </p><p>  <i>“Why are you so annoying?!”</i></p><p>   <i>“Because I CAN BE!”</i></p><p>  <i>“Oh wow, that’s so mature, Hale-“</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>“Oh bite me, Argent!”</i></p><p>   <i>Stiles was actually impressed by how long Peter and Chris had been fighting. He looked at Derek, who was holding out the book he was reading to show Alex the pictures where he was sitting in Stiles’s lap. “Dude, are they okay?” he asked softly, nodding to the doorway where Chris and Peter kept reappearing.</i></p><p>  <i>Derek turned back just as Peter stalked past with Chris following him, arms waving as he argued with him. “Oh yeah, this is a near-monthly thing,” he said, and Stiles raised a skeptical eyebrow.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Same Chains That I Kept You In

**Author's Note:**

> It's not absolutely necessary to read the [Fangs & Fur verse](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1368748%20) to follow this fic, but it would make MORE sense if you did. 
> 
> Warning: there's a few cases of minor, verse-canonical character deaths, but you know all about those from the first fic so it's all good.
> 
> (A lovely reader pointed out my dumb ass somehow called Talia's husband the wrong name 3 times in this one... *sigh* in my NOTES it's Richard, so idk how the hell I called him Robert in this fic!)

**Now**

“Why are you so annoying?!”

“Because I CAN BE!”

“Oh wow, that’s so mature, Hale-“

“Oh bite me, Argent!”

Stiles was actually impressed by how long Peter and Chris had been fighting. He looked at Derek, who was holding out the book he was reading to show Alex the pictures where he was sitting in Stiles’s lap. “Dude, are they okay?” he asked softly, nodding to the doorway where Chris and Peter kept reappearing.

Derek turned back just as Peter stalked past with Chris following him, arms waving as he argued with him. “Oh yeah, this is a near-monthly thing,” he said, and Stiles raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“You mean to tell me those two, after twelve years of marriage, still fight like this _often_?!” he asked, and Derek nodded.

“Yep. You just haven’t seen a good day yet,” he said with a shrug like it was no big deal when Stiles heard a door slam so loudly it hurt his normal human ears. 

“OH my GOD I married a CHILD!” Chris growled as he stalked back past the doorway.

Peter was on his heels, following him. “YEAH?! Well I married a GOAT FUCKER!” he snarled loudly, eyes full of rage.

Stiles raised an eyebrow and mouthed _goat fucker?_ to Derek, who just snickered. “That’s a new one.” He turned the page. “Look at the butterfly!” Derek said in bright tone, showing the picture to Alex.

“Dude, no, really, they look super mad,” Stiles muttered worriedly and Derek sighed.

“You’re the most INCONSIDERATE and SELFISH person I’ve ever met!” Chris grumbled as he followed Peter, who was loudly repeating the words “Chicken shit!” on his way past.

“Three,” Derek muttered, and Stiles looked at him in confusion.

Chris came stalking back past, looking really, _really_ pissed. “I cannot believe I have to work with you, too!”

“Well maybe you should quit since you’re a shitty editor!” Peter chimed, following him.

“Two,” Derek mumbled, turning another page to show to Alex.

Stiles narrowed his eyes. “Derek, what are you counting-“

“WHY DO YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME?!” Peter cried angrily as he stormed past the doorway.

“BECAUSE YOU NEVER STOP TALKING LONG ENOUGH TO NOTICE I AM LISTENING!” Chris shouted, following him. “Swear to God-“

Derek huffed in soft amusement. “One.”

Stiles shifted Alex in his lap. “Are you going to explain?” he asked Derek, but before he could ask again, Chris came back into view, stopping in front of the doorway so he was looking Peter in the eyes when Peter stepped right up in his space.

“If you really can’t stand me, why the _hell_ did you marry me?!” Chris asked angrily.

Peter gritted his teeth menacingly. “If I’m such a child, why the hell did you marry me?!”

“I asked first-“

Peter grabbed him by the shirt suddenly. “Because you make everything about my life better!” Peter cried angrily.

“Yeah? Well,” Chris growled angrily, “You’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever met!”

Stiles frowned at the sudden change in things said but not the attitude. Derek just pointed over his shoulder. “Annnnnnd, that.”

Stiles started to ask what Derek meant, but suddenly the angry glaring and challenging each other shifted and Peter let out an animalistic growl just as Chris dove in and kissed him hard enough Stiles could _hear_ their teeth clacking. Peter moaned more suggestively than Stiles ever needed to hear and leapt on Chris, legs going around his waist right there. When Chris slammed Peter against the wall at the bottom of the stairs and grabbed at his ass, Stiles’s eyes widened in horror and he slapped a hand over Alex’s eyes.

Derek snorted out a laugh at Stiles’s face, only to full on burst out laughing when Stiles reached out and covered his eyes as well. Derek could hear the bangs and cracks of the two men stumbling up the stairs while trying to get naked and not disconnect right there on the staircase, and he cringed. “Okay, maybe we should take Alex outside to play for a while-“

“Oh dear God, yes!” Stiles said, scrambling up, Alex in one arm, hand still over his eyes with the other hand. “Get the baby bag,” he said, then averted his gaze as he sprinted out of the house with Alex, not even bothering to shut the front door behind him for fear of what he might see if he looked up the stairs by accident.

When Derek joined him outside, Stiles glared at him. Derek just chuckled. “What? I’ve lived with this for twelve years with only a brief respite when I was living out east.”

“You could’ve warned me! Alex was looking!” Stiles said, narrowing his eyes. “There are some things that are definitely not okay for little eyes and ears.”

Derek just rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, Stiles, don’t act like that. What’s better for a child than to be around people who love each other enough to be married twelve _years_ and still have interest in each other?” He raised his eyebrows. “Better than pretending sex isn’t a thing the whole time they’re growing up and suddenly scarring a kid for life when they’re ten or twelve or something.” 

Stiles narrowed his eyes. “It’s not about shielding a cub from sex, it’s about the chances he’ll yell ‘goat fucker’ at my dad at some point this week,” he said and Derek hesitated, making a face.

“Yeah, okay, maybe you have a point.”

Stiles scoffed as they walked around the house so Alex could play in the sandbox. “Besides, there’s a big difference in pretending sex isn’t a thing and watching people go at it right there in front of everybody.” He made a face. “Also, twelve years and the fire’s still there or not, I’m not sure _those two_ are the example of ‘loving marriage’ Alex needs, dude,” he pointed out. “I mean… yelling and grabbing each other like that is not exactly a healthy example.”

Derek smiled suddenly. It was a big, dopey smile that Stiles had only ever seen directed at himself or at Alex. Derek suddenly ducked in and kissed Stiles’s cheek as they walked. “Good thing he’s got us as his primary examples then, huh?” he asked.

“Eurgh, don’t be sappy when I can’t hug you, it’s just cruel,” Stiles groaned. When they got to the sandbox, he sat Alex down and went around the border to get Alex’s trucks and bring them over. Once Alex had a shovel and a dump truck to fill up, Stiles went to sit on the grass beside Derek, who immediately grabbed Stiles around the waist and curled into him, laying his head on his shoulder. Stiles hummed happily, turning to kiss Derek’s forehead.

Derek gave a content rumble, nuzzling into his neck. “I love you,” Derek said softly and Stiles couldn’t help the warmth that filled him from the inside.

“Love you,” Stiles said, bumping their heads together. He frowned. “That won’t ever happen to us, right? I mean, you’re not going to suddenly become a yeller in ten years, right?” he asked, and Derek scoffed, lifting his head, though he left his arm around Stiles’s middle.

“Trust me, those two were like this _before_ they got together,” Derek said, shaking his head. “It was just Peter for a while. Mom figured it was latent anger at the bombing and how bad he got hurt that he was just taking out on the former-hunter. But she realized it was flirting. It pissed Peter off more, I think he was angry at himself for liking a human who was once a hunter, and the more he could see how pissy Peter was, the more amused Chris got. It really pissed Peter off that instead of arguing back, Chris just gave him knowing looks. About a year after Peter started snarking and bitching at Chris, Chris suddenly started responding and then they started this whole ‘I hate you, I hate you, too, let’s fuck’ thing and then like a year after that, they randomly got married,” Derek explained, chuckling. “They started being sappy after they got married. They still fight a lot, always did, that never stopped, the fighting until they snapped and had angry sex, but now the sappy stuff is less ‘sappy’ and more ‘content’, which I’m assuming is a ‘married a long time’ thing.”

Stiles chuckled, shaking his head. “I will give you that. When they’re not fighting, they are very ‘this is my other half’,” he said. He leaned back some. “What was that like? Being around those two when you were still a kid?” he asked.

Derek smiled sadly. “Well, at first, things were bad,” he said softly, and Stiles thought about the scars Derek still had on his side and reached out, resting his hand over them, even if Derek’s shirt lay between his hand and the scars. “The explosion changed _everything_.”

~

**Then**

Peter remembered running with Derek, trying to get to Grace and Andrew as soon as he heard his brother-in-law yelling ‘there’s a bomb!’. Everybody else was running away, trying to escape, and it only made it that much harder to try to get to the woman with shocking red hair that was with his brother-in-law and his sister do something to the lamp post. Grace and Andrew were clinging to Richard, trying to tug him away even as he tried to shake them off and kept shouting ‘run, run!’ to them while he tried to help Gloria rip the cover off of the access panel. “GRACE! ANDREW!” Peter shouted, trying to shove a path through the confused people all running and panicking. 

“COME TO ME, GRACIE!” Derek screamed, his voice cracking as he struggled through the same flow of people Peter was fighting. “ANDY!” he cried, and Peter was about ready to wolf out and just start clawing people out of his way.

He could see them. He could see Richard and Gloria. He could see Andrew and Grace. And he saw the moment the woman with the red hair turned to Richard and Gloria and opened her mouth to shout at them, but before she could even reach then ‘N’ of ‘RUN!’, there was a blinding flash, a roaring so loud Peter’s ears went ‘pop’ and everything went silent, and suddenly a wave of heat and air threw him backwards. 

Peter barely had a moment of horrible, striking pain before everything went dark.

~

Peter woke up in stages.

The only constant every time he woke up was the sound of Talia crying and this horrible feeling of loss that he knew came with losing a pack member.

He didn’t know who had died, but it hurt.

~

The first time Peter was conscious enough to really understand his surroundings, he turned his head, eyes opening slowly until he could see Talia. She was sitting in a chair between his bed and a bed on the other side of her. “T’lia?” he tried to ask, but his throat was too raw for him to do more than whisper.

Talia’s head popped up and she smiled at him this heartbreaking smile of relief. “Oh Peter,” she sighed, sliding closer to him. She reached out and leaned over him, laying her hand on his hand gently. “I’m so happy you’re awake,” she managed, her voice trembling.

Peter tried to lift his hand to grab his sister’s, but even that hurt so much he whined. Talia quickly grabbed his wrist and he felt the pain draining from him as the black lines rolled up her arm. “St’pit” he muttered and she withdrew, letting him finally look at her. “Wha ‘pen?” he asked.

She took a rattling breath and sat down heavily, fingers running through her hair. “You’re healing,” she said softly. “It’s taking a long time, but you’re going to be okay. It may take a while before you’re fully healed, and there’s-“ She hesitated. “There’s a chance you and Derek will both have some scars,” she said and Peter looked to try and see if that was Derek behind her. She smiled and moved over. “Yeah, it’s Derek.”

Peter’s stomach turned to ice when he saw Derek. His whole right side was uncovered, from knee to shoulder, and Peter could see tremendous burns all down his side, along with a jagged healing gash from his hip to his lower ribs. “Fuck,” Peter whispered, and he fidgeted just a little, trying to take stock of what was wrong with his body if Derek looked like that and was still unconscious and Peter had only just woken up.

Talia seemed to notice what he was doing. “The side of your face is burned, and down your left arm. You’ve got some fragment scars on your back and shoulder to go with the burns,” she said.

Peter took a heavy breath, then nodded. “And?” he asked, even though deep down, he already knew the answer.

Talia bit her lip, her chin trembling. “Nobody else,” she whispered and Peter could _feel_ the anguish pouring off of his sister. He didn’t care if his arm was burned and it hurt to move, he reached out for her and pulled at her shirt until she gave in and crawled into the bed beside him, laying her head on his good shoulder as she cried. Peter curled his good hand into her hair, holding her close.

He may have burns, but his pack had just suffered the worst loss imaginable and his alpha was also his big sister. It was his job as a brother to be there for the woman who had practically raised him when she needed him.

~

“This is BULLSHIT!” Peter shouted, throwing a book clean across the room. “Talia, this is fucking bullshit-“

“Watch your damn mouth, I’m your alpha!” Talia cried in shock. “Peter! What the hell?”

He scoffed. “This is bullshit and you know it. He’s a fucking hunter!” He threw another book, not caring it flew out the door. “How he hell even could you?!”

Talia sighed. “Peter, he isn’t that kind of person. He turned in his own _family_ to save us,” she said in a calmer tone. “Chris Argent, risked everything and gave up his entire world to help us. For Christ sake, his wife has just _died_ , his family is all in prison or on the run, he has nowhere to go! He’s got a little girl-“

“Also a hunter in training,” Peter argued. “I can’t believe you, Talia-“

Talia growled at him. “I’m getting tired of your mouth, Peter. This man and his daughter are alone, now. They lost everything. Chris Argent did everything he could to save us all-“

“And look how wonderfully they succeeded,” Peter said scathingly. “Four people dead, Derek hasn’t said two words since he woke up, and I look like THIS!” he said, gesturing to his burned face and arm that were still healing. “Those _Argents_ are the reason your _children_ are DEAD-“

Talia snarled and grabbed Peter, slamming him against the wall. “THEN YOU SHOULD BELIEVE THAT I’M DOING WHAT IS RIGHT!” she roared, actually scaring Peter some. “My husband and two of my children are dead, you’re right, and you know what?! Chris Argent’s wife is dead and his daughter is suffering the same damn thing my remaining children are!” she shouted. “So yes, I’m going to fucking let them join the pack! There is no discussion, here Peter! Stop throwing a fit like a fucking CHILD!” she snapped.

Peter glared, jaw clenched tight when she backed off and deflated. “Please, Peter. Please. I know, okay? Just… just cooperate, okay? Please? This is a terrible time for us all, but the only way forward is to prove to the public that terrorism will never be successful in taking us down.” She closed her eyes. “I need help, not arguments.”

Peter swallowed hard, but shook his head. “Should’ve thought about that before you decided to accept a _hunter_ into the pack,” he said tersely, turning to stalk out without another word.

~

Derek was still barely speaking. Peter stood in the doorway watching him as he sat in the window seat and stared out the window. It was understandable, but it was scary. Derek was never the most social kid, but he hadn’t said but about ten words entirely in the two months since the bombing. 

“How is he?” a tired voice asked from behind Peter. Peter flinched and _hated_ himself for showing surprise. It pissed him off that that stupid hunter could walk up behind him without him noticing most of the time. 

“Two months ago he watched his dad, aunt, brother, and sister get blown up and spent two weeks in a coma,” Peter said simply, turning to glare at Argent. “How do you think he is?” 

Peter was even angrier when Argent’s eyes immediately flickered to the scars still visible on the side and back of Peter’s neck. “I hope he starts talking soon,” Argent said and Peter narrowed his eyes as he looked slightly up at him.

“Probably a better chance of that happening without hunters looming in the doorway,” Peter said lightly, though his eyes were deadly serious.

Argent smiled sadly. “Peter, I’m not a hunter anymore. I wish you would believe me when I say that Allison and I are done with that forever. Your sister wouldn’t have let us join your pack if we were still hunters.”

“Well I’m not my sister,” Peter said simply. “She’s trusting you. I’m watching you. You’ll slip up eventually, and I’ll enjoy seeing how long it takes for _your_ face to grow back after I rip it off, just like hunters burned mine.” He sneered. “Somehow I’m betting it’s longer than two months,” he whispered as he shoved past Argent and started to the stairs.

He heard Argent sigh, but he didn’t stop and look back because he honestly didn’t give a rats ass about that damn hunter.

~

“I fucking hate that bastard,” Peter grumbled as he almost violently stirred the cookie dough he was mixing. “Damn hunter-“

Talia breezed in about that time, sighing. “Peter complaining about Chris again?” Talia asked her kids as she passed them all and went to the refrigerator. 

“Yep,” Laura said, smirking at her uncle. “Apparently he refused to change a headline Peter doesn’t like-“

“It’s so STUPID though!” Peter groaned. “Eurgh, and then he had to drag his old ass to my office and complained about me terrorizing the writers or some bullshit like that-“

“You say that like you mind his ass,” Cora said and Talia tutted.

“Language!” she said, and Cora rolled her eyes.

“Mom, I’m almost old enough to drive. I’m old enough to say ‘ass’-“

“I’m not going to have my little girl saying stuff like that in my kitchen when I’m in it,” Talia interrupted. 

Derek snickered. “For the record, Mom, Peter’s said every word in the English language, and possibly words that he made up himself in the last forty-five minutes.”

Cora nodded. “Cause he’s got a serious boner for Chris-“

“Cora!” Derek cried, looking scandalized. Talia just sighed and banged her head against the refrigerator door.

“What?” Cora asked, shrugging absent-mindedly. “It’s just true-“

“Do you have to say it like that though?!” Derek argued, the tips of his ears pink.

Cora raised an eyebrow, eying him with a sincerely unfazed expression. “You’re an adult male, I’m pretty sure the word ‘boner’ shouldn’t make you blush-“

“Cora, stop!” Derek complained, looking damn-near scarred for life.

Laura made a face. “Can we please stop talking about sexual aspects of anatomy while we’re making cookies?” she asked, and Talia pulled herself away from banging her head on the refrigerator.

“Yes, please!”

Peter huffed. “Also, maligning my good name is seriously just not okay, Cora, so stop the vicious slander-“

“Oh Peter, come on, you’ve been pulling Chris’s pigtails for months,” Talia said, and Peter gave her an offended huff.

“IT IS ALL FALSEHOODS AND LIES!” he cried, throwing a glob of cookie dough at his sister. She ducked it and glared when she stood tall and looked back to see cookie dough sliding down the stainless steel front of the refrigerator. 

“You know, sometimes I think you really are a child,” she said, and Peter poked his tongue out without any other reply. “Oh yes, baby brother, very mature,” she drawled and Peter glared.

“Don’t call me that-“

“Awww, but you ARE my baby brother!” Talia said, suddenly sliding up behind Peter and hugging him around the middle dramatically, making Peter roll his eyes. “My baby brother who has a total crush on our hunter friend-“

“God, Talia, not you too!” he whined, shaking her off. 

Talia smiled and leaned on the counter beside him, tucking his hair behind his ear. “Hey, look at me,” she said, and he glared at her instead. Her smile softened. “You haven’t gone out with anybody or even flirted around work like you used to since you got hurt,” she said, and Peter ducked his head, jaw clenched. “I’m just glad to see you showing an interest in somebody, even if it’s juvenile pigtail pulling.”

“I don’t _like him_ , he’s an asshole! I’ve never met anybody who grates at every last nerve I have like that man,” Peter grumbled and she chuckled.

“Yeah, well, maybe there’s a reason he can get under your skin,” she said, kissing his cheek sloppily, making him whine and wipe at his face, ducking away from his sister.

“Get off me, woman!” he complained, swatting at Talia until she laughed and walked away.

Peter ignored the smirks the kids were giving him and went back to stirring. They were _wrong_ and he was gonna prove it to them.

~

Peter wasn’t proving jack shit.

There was absolutely no way for Peter to ignore or even deny the fact that his eyes seemed to be stuck on Chris Argent’s arms in the muscle shirt he was wearing while he and Derek painted the house. Peter couldn’t even feel bad about parking his ass on a picnic table, laid out to ‘get some sun’, just so he could sneak glances through his sunglasses. The tight jeans Argent was wearing didn’t hurt, either. 

He didn’t _like_ Chris, but there was no denying he was damn fun to look at. Especially when he stretched up on the ladder and a strip of his back and side showed. Yum. 

Peter sighed and angled himself so that it looked like he was lying on his back with his eyes shut, but really, he was totally watching the hypnotic movement of Argent’s arm as he painted the house. The muscles of his arm flexed, and the loose armholes of the muscle shirt gave a teasing glance of the muscles in his shoulder and back flexing. Peter hummed softly as he relaxed back against the arms folded beneath his head, smiling faintly as he watched Argent’s thighs and ass flex when he stood up on his toes, reaching higher. 

Chris was reaching up, on his tiptoes, arm stretched out higher, when something interrupted Peter’s gazing, and that something was ice fucking cold and all over his chest. “AHH!” he yelped, jumping up so fast he fell off the table. “Dammit!” he roared as he stood up and saw Derek doubled over, laughing, with an empty glass in his hand. “Derek!” he whined and Derek snickered.

“You’d be less obvious if you were actually shirtless like a person tanning would be,” Derek pointed out. 

“He’d also be less obvious if werewolves could get tans,” Chris called, looking back at them from his perch up on the ladder. He winked at Peter, who crossed his arms over his sopping chest, glaring back. 

“I don’t know what you two are talking about. I’m just getting some sun,” Peter said dismissively. He pulled his shirt off to wipe off his face and the rest of his chest, glaring at Derek again. “Thanks, asshole.”

Chris laughed softly and Peter turned to glare. Chris shrugged. “Hey, it’s a good look on you,” he said, wiping at the sweat on his forehead with his shirt just long enough to flash his abs to Peter, who barely managed not to groan out loud.

“Wait, what?” Peter muttered suddenly, then narrowed his eyes at Argent, shoving his sunglasses up. “Did you seriously just say half-naked and wet was a good look on me? Aren’t you like, forty, you perv?” he teased.

Chris smirked. “What? You’re twenty-five, that’s more than legal,” he said simply, and Peter’s jaw dropped. 

Derek groaned, shaking his head. “Oh God, don’t encourage him!” he yelled out to Chris as he went to take the glass back in the house. 

Chris watched him go, laughing to himself, only to turn back to Peter and shrug, shucking his shirt off and dropping it down to the ground in a smooth move. “He started it,” he suggested and Peter finally snapped out of it, blushing as his eyes roved over the lean, muscled, tan expanse of Chris’s back before his throat clicked and he made a quick move to follow Derek inside.

“I’m feeling a little too warm, enough sun for me, bye!” Peter called quickly as he darted towards the back porch, Argent’s amused chuckles following him as he went.

~

When Peter heard the gunshots, for an instant, his blood turned to ice. He stopped and his head snapped towards the sound. “Chris,” he breathed, and Talia looked at him suddenly.

“What did you say?” she asked, and Peter swallowed.

“Chris and Laura were in town,” he said, and Talia didn’t hesitate to start running. Peter dropped to all fours following her. They had to go back to two feet when they got into the city, though, and they had to slow down. By the time they smelled the gunpowder still in the air, with the tang of blood, they were within sight of the emergency vehicles and the lights flashing. 

Peter and Talia approached, both of them trying to see if it was the little boy or either Chris or Laura, but the people and lights made it hard to hear or see anything. Peter almost couldn’t breathe. Talia had lost two children already, he didn’t know if she could handle losing another. And he didn’t know what would happen if it was Chris. Over the past few months, he hadn’t abandoned his defense that he didn’t like Chris, but it was mostly for show now. He knew in his heart that what he felt for Chris was something different. Something he had never felt before. He had a feeling from the way Chris flirted and argued back that his feelings weren’t one-sided. 

Peter and Talia both froze when they heard the words of the EMT on the scene. “There’s no pulse, no response. We’ve got to call it.”

“No,” Talia breathed at his side, and Peter looked at her worriedly.

“Mom!” Peter and Talia both whipped around and Peter’s breath whooshed out of him in a rush when he saw Chris running up behind Laura. “Mom, what is it, they didn’t get the boy did-“

Peter swallowed hard and ignored Talia and Laura altogether as he closed the distance between them and threw his arms around Chris’s shoulders, pressing his face into Chris’s neck. “Christopher,” he breathed, eyes clenched shut. It was such a relief that it was catching up with him that it could’ve _actually_ been Chris that was lying dead beyond the police barrier.

“Peter… what happened?” Chris asked, arms sliding around Peter’s waist. Peter shook his head, face still tucked into his neck. “Talia,” he heard Chris ask, even able to feel the rumbling of Chris’s voice against his chest. “What happened?”

Peter let Chris hold him, one arm around his middle and the other stroking slow, soothing passes over his shoulders. Peter had never felt anything as perfect in his life. He tuned out the conversation they were having, even if he really should’ve cared more about the fact someone, even if it wasn’t Laura or Chris, had _died_. He took a calming breath, surrounded by Chris’s scent, but his slowly calming heart rate stopped altogether when a panicked cry broke through all the noises and half the people on the scene went silent.

“No! Claudia?! That’s my wife!”

Peter pulled away and turned to Talia, his breath coming in quick bursts. “No…” Talia just nodded tightly, looking towards the alley where the police had cordoned off. Peter saw the tears in her eyes and he looked to Laura, who had a hand over her mouth. “Shit,” Peter breathed, and Chris’s hand clenched against his shirt.

“They called it,” Chris said softly and Peter blankly. 

“I heard,” he whispered.

Talia flinched slightly and Peter followed her eyes, only to inhale sharply at the sight of Deputy Stilinski being pretty much held up by two of his colleagues as he stared at what Peter could only imagine had to be the worst sight that poor man could possibly ever see. Peter swallowed hard and looked to Talia, who had a very haunted expression on her face. She knew that pain. She knew what Deputy Stilinski was going through. Peter looked back and could see that the man was still just… blank. He was hanging limply in his coworker’s grasp and his face was absolutely empty of any comprehension. Peter knew it wouldn’t be long before he realized he wasn’t dreaming and that it wasn’t going to go away when he woke up. Peter shuddered and turned back to lay his head on Chris’s shoulder, eyes clenched shut.

Peter didn’t want to see that. He didn’t want to see that at all.

~

Chris sighed, shaking his head as he dabbed at Peter’s split cheek with a wet cloth. “You’re such a dumbass, Peter,” he mumbled, and Peter’s stomach twisted.

“It was a really bad idea,” he agreed softly. He sniffled some, biting his equally cut lip, only to whimper. “Ow.” 

Chris looked at him with so much disappointment in his eyes that Peter couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Chris dabbed a bit harder than was necessary and Peter whined. “So.” Chris’s jaw clenched. “Want to tell me what you were doing while your sister is out of town that got your ass kicked, or do I want to know?”

Peter’s eyes flickered away guiltily. “I- I had a date,” he said, and he felt Chris’s hand flinch against his cheek. 

“Oh? Who was he?” Chris asked, and Peter could hear an edge to his voice.

Peter sniffled. “Woman, actually. A friend of Laura’s.” He snorted, rolling his eyes. “Apparently a _not single_ friend of Laura’s,” he clarified and Chris snorted.

“Boyfriend or husband?” he asked and Peter winced.

“Husband. Werewolf husband, too. I had no idea until, in the middle of shooting pool at this bar, this big ass guy starts beating the shit out of me,” he muttered.

Chris nodded. “So… you haven’t ever struck me as the ‘dating’ type. I’ve never noticed you going out with anyone.”

Peter narrowed his eyes at Chris. “I wonder why,” he drawled sarcastically and Chris raised an eyebrow.

“I do wonder why,” Chris prompted. “You’re young, you should be going out more-“

“Oh fuck off, you know damn well why, Christopher, don’t play dumb, it’s unbecoming,” he snapped.

Chris smiled dryly. “I thought I knew why, but obviously I was wrong if you were out on a date tonight-“

“You don’t get to have it both ways, Christopher!” Peter snapped suddenly, and Chris paused his cut-cleaning. “Fuck you, you do not get to act like that. Two _years_! At least one of which you were flirting right back, but never anything slightly serious,” Peter accused. “You don’t get to act jealous when you made it clear that it stopped with flirting between the two of us-“

“Since when?” Chris asked calmly, his pale eyes boring holes into Peter’s face. “I wasn’t aware there was a problem-“

“You don’t get to string me along and expect me to just keep chasing,” Peter said softly, though his voice was deathly serious. “It- it’s been four years since the bombing. Two years ago I got over that trauma, and since then it’s been a very oddly singular infatuation with the most frustrating man in the world that’s kept me drawn in, but I can’t keep being afraid of the outside world because of something that happened four years ago, and I can’t fool myself into thinking anything can happen between me and the _hunter_ ten years older than me, can I?” he asked bitterly, eyes stinging with unshed tears. 

Chris sobered instantly, pulling away slightly. “You haven’t called me a hunter in years,” he said and Peter immediately felt guilty.

Peter let his eyes drop. “It’s not fair. It’s not fair to expect me to follow you like a puppy anymore. I’m a young, wealthy, powerful werewolf. I should be looking for a mate, not daydreaming-“

“And who said it was a daydream, Peter?” Chris asked, an edge to his voice that Peter didn’t expect. “What have I done that made you suddenly think nothing could ever happen?” he asked and Peter snorted.

“Apart from a _year_ for getting just close enough but never following through with more than a flirt that can be played off as teasing?” Peter asked severely. “It feels like being a mouse you have under your paw, Chris, one that you hold onto just long enough to make me think it’s coming and then let go like it’s all just some game.” Peter shook his head. “You can’t expect me to keep hope through a _year_ of it!”

Chris eyed him guardedly. “Peter… you’re twenty-five. I didn’t see any _reason_ for it to be anything other than some fun for you. What the hell would make me think that a young, wealthy, successful man wouldn’t make whatever move he wanted, when he wanted it?”

Peter scoffed. “I’m a _werewolf_ , we don’t do ‘just some fun’ very well! And you really don’t get why I wouldn’t just go for it if I really wanted it?! Do you not see it from my side? Christopher, you have a daughter that’s only ten years younger than me, you are my sister’s right hand man both in the pack and in the magazine, and you are an established person in the pack’s entire public face. That’s seriously intimidating! I’m a young, stupid kid compared to you, why the hell would I just ‘go for it’ under those circumstances without being _positive_ I had a chance?”

“Why wouldn’t you have a chance-“

Peter interrupted weakly. “What have you possibly done to make me think I had one?”

Chris’s eyes flickered with something Peter didn’t catch and he sighed. “What would you do with a damn clear sign that you had every chance in the world?”

Peter closed his eyes, turning his head. “Don’t play with me, Chris. I just can’t. It’s not funny, okay-“ Peter was cut off by a strong, warm hand cupping his cheek. His eyes flew open, but all he saw was a brief flash of Chris’s eyes before Chris’s lips were on his. Peter froze slightly, but Chris didn’t back down. His kiss wasn’t soft, it wasn’t gentle, and it wasn’t unsure. Chris kissed him like he was determined to prove something. Chris kissed him like he wanted to drill it into Peter’s mind that he was _wanted_.

Unsureness before or not, Peter didn’t miss this signals this time. 

Peter raised his hands and curled his fingers into Chris’s hair, unable to withhold a soft moan as Chris nipped gently at his bottom lip before licking into his mouth. Peter whined against Chris’s lips when Chris grabbed his thighs and pulled him to the edge of the counter so that Chris could step between his knees, pressing their torsos flush. “Oh God, Christopher,” Peter panted, only to whine when Chris kissed down the long column of his throat instead of pausing to catch his breath. Chris’s teeth scraped at his collar bone and Peter groaned hoarsely. “Fuck, Chris, oh God!”

Chris pulled back just far enough to look up into Peter’s eyes, licking at his bottom lip. “That clear enough for you?” he rasped, eyes flickering between Peter’s eyes and his mouth.

Peter whined and nodded. “Yeah, message received- Mmmph!” Peter was cut off with another deep, thorough kiss. Peter couldn’t do much more than hang onto Chris, hand fisted in his shirt and his hair, legs clamped to his sides, as Chris took control.

Peter wasn’t sure if it was a side-effect of being single for five years, or just Chris being that good, but he couldn’t remember anybody setting his entire body on fire with nothing but kissing the way Chris was.

~

The first really big fight Peter and Chris had had left the entire pack on a knifes edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Personally, Peter thought they were all being overdramatic. He and Chris bickered all the time, and this time it just escalated to a full on yelling match. However, from his position curled up against Chris’s chest after a rough, sweaty, ‘anger turned to lust’ round of somewhat impressively athletic sex, Peter was pretty sure he hoped he and Chris continued to have the occasional knockdown, drag out fight just so they could end it with really incredible sex.

“You know,” Peter drawled, stroking a hand through Chris’s chest hair absently. “Old human men aren’t supposed to be that… enthusiastic in bed, no matter how adrenaline fueled the sex is,” Peter teased and Chris chuckled, rolling his eyes.

“You make it seem like I’m ancient. I’m thirty-six-“

“Yeah and that’s old as shit,” Peter teased, looking up at Chris with a playful grin.

Chris just raised his eyebrows. “Did it feel like I’m all that old?” he asked, and Peter’s grin turned darker.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve had werewolves that don’t have that kind of stamina,” Peter said and Chris smirked.

“Exactly.” They were quiet for a moment before Chris hummed, pausing in his stroking his fingers along Peter’s shoulder. “Wait… what were we fighting about?” he asked and Peter snickered.

“I scheduled in ‘hot sex in office with boss’s baby brother’ into your schedule for the day and then when you asked your secretary to read you your schedule for the day she quit,” Peter reminded him and Chris groaned.

“Oh yeah, you broke into my office and cost me my secretary,” Chris said, though Peter could see his lips twitching.

“Admit it, it was funny,” Peter said, and Chris lost control of his snickers.

“Okay, okay, that was really funny, but it was still really wrong,” he said, giving Peter his best attempt at stern. “You’re a grownup, act like it.”

Peter smiled softly. “Never!” He tangled his fingers with Chris’s. “Besides, bickering with you is fun. I’d do it every day if I could, even though I could probably do without the actual screaming,” he admitted. “Although that led to really hot sex so… yeah, not arguing too much.”

Chris stroked at Peter’s cheek with a fond smile. “You wouldn’t be you if you weren’t an asshole,” he said and Peter smirked.

“You know you love me just the way I am,” Peter teased as he stretched, back arching, and then rolled over to fling an arm and a leg over Chris, nuzzling into his throat. 

Chris kissed his forehead and curled their fingers together on his middle. “I love you any way you are,” Chris said softly, and Peter smiled.

However, after a second his eyes flicked open and he tensed. “Oh,” he breathed, then pulled back to look up at Chris. Chris raised an eyebrow and Peter bit his lip, looking into his eyes searchingly. Chris had never told him he loved him before.

Chris just smiled a little amused smile and leaned down to kiss Peter sweetly. “Oh come on, you know I’m in love with you, Peter. If I wasn’t, I’d have strangled you by now.”

Peter smiled and reached up to cup Chris’s stubbly cheek. “I love you, too, Christopher,” he said, and Chris grinned.

“I love when you say my whole name like that,” he admitted, and Peter laughed suddenly. “Nobody else has ever called me by my whole name. It’s so unnecessary but sounds so right when you say it.”

Peter shrugged. “I’d have murdered anybody who ever called me ‘Pete’ so I have a thing for whole names,” he joked. “I call you Chris enough, too, though. Your name sure is a mouthful,” he said. Chris snickered suddenly and Peter glared, swatting at his chest. “And you tell me to act like a grown-up,” he grumbled, only to squeak when Chris grabbed him around the middle and flipped them both over, pinning Peter beneath him.

“I don’t know what I’m doing with you, half the time,” Chris said, looking down at Peter. “You make me feel so differently than anything I’ve felt before.” Chris smiled sadly. “Don’t get me wrong, I loved my wife,” he said and Peter reached up and cupped his cheek, feeling a pang for Chris even after everything. “But I never felt… so much. She and I got married so young, and it was because my father approved of her, so I guess I never really had a chance to find out that there was more besides casual and what I had with her.” He turned and kissed Peter’s palm. “And then there’s _you_ ,” he groaned, and Peter grinned. “You drive me crazy in the worst and best ways. I’ve never had that before, not with anybody. It’s frustrating, and you’re frustrating, but I cannot imagine ever letting you go,” he admitted softly.

Peter smirked. “We should get married,” he said, and Chris raised an eyebrow. “What?! We should.” He kissed Chris sweetly. “Obviously, I’m not getting over you, Christopher. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t ask for a better mate, especially when I spent a seriously ridiculous amount of time so hung up on you I didn’t even go out.”

Chris stroked his hair out of his face, making Peter turn into the movement. “You had been hurt in a really bad way. You were traumatized-“

“Yeah, for the first couple of years, then I just go obsessed with you. Thought I hated your guts, but then I realized I kinda wanted your dick,” he said and Chris rolled his eyes. “Chris, seriously, you don’t know this, but I’m actually a pretty big slut,” he said, and Chris raised an eyebrow at him.

“You went on one date that ended in an ass kicking in the almost five years I’ve known you-“

“Yeah, because I was hung up on you,” Peter stressed. 

Chris smirked. “I thought you said werewolves don’t do casual well that night we got together?” he asked, and Peter nodded.

“Yeah, not casual with feelings, but you don’t even have to know somebody’s name to fuck them in the alley next to the club-“

“Ew,” Chris said, and Peter smirked.

“Oh come on, like you never had a one-night stand when you were younger,” he teased, pinching at his side, until Chris squirmed away. Peter rolled onto his middle, smiling across the pillow at Chris. “I admit, most werewolves aren’t good at that either, but when you look like I did and you don’t get to know anything about them, hook-ups are easier. Mostly I did it just to watch Derek squirm,” he admitted with a smirk. “It freaks him out so bad.”

Chris raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “Really? Casual sex is that disturbing to a young, ridiculously attractive man with a sports car and a wealthy family?” he asked skeptically.

Peter scoffed. “Oh please, this is Derek Hale, the almost twenty-two year old virgin, everything about sex makes him uncomfortable,” he said and Chris rolled his eyes. 

“That kid has issues,” he said, and Peter nodded, grinning. 

“So many issues. Had them before the bombing, has them worse after.” He batted his eyelashes at Chris. “But really, we should get married.”

Chris smirked. “You just want to freak Derek out more, don’t you?” he accused and Peter grinned innocently.

“Who me? Never!” He leaned over and kissed Chris sweetly. “Buuuuut we’ve been dating for less than four months, it would shock the hell out of my sister.”

“You know Allison would probably kill us if we eloped,” Chris said, and Peter grinned brightly.

“Even better! We can tell only Allison. Then we’ll have an accomplice!” Peter announced excitedly.

Chris groaned, and covered his eyes with his hand, before finally looking up. “When is your schedule clear for enough time to get a marriage license and a judge?” he asked, and Peter smirked.

“I don’t have any meetings before two tomorrow afternoon,” he suggested and Chris groaned.

“Well shit, I’m free until one-thirty,” he complained. “Damn it, tomorrow is doable. Talia is going to kill me, Peter, I’m really going to die,” he groaned.

Peter smiled sweetly. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” he said, sliding over to snuggle into Chris’s side. “Offer to drive Allison to school instead of Derek and don’t take her to school,” he suggested, and Chris laughed out loud at how ridiculous the plan was.

“We’re insane,” Chris said, curling his arms around Peter, hugging him close.

Peter snuggled into his chest and sighed. “We’ll enjoy our insanity for a _long_ time coming,” Peter agreed, making Chris huff in amusement.

~

**Now**

Stiles was walking around the kitchen with a half-asleep Alex sprawled against him, not even hanging on to Stiles as he rocked him and one-handedly fixed him a sippy cup of juice and got him a bowl of dry cheerios. “Good morning.” Stiles turned and smiled at Talia, who yawned and shuffled over to the coffee pot. “You’re up early,” she said, and Stiles smiled, turning to kiss Alex’s curls.

“I had a grumpy little werewolf demanding food,” he said, then smirked when Derek shuffled into the kitchen behind his mother, barely looking awake.

Talia chuckled when Derek flopped down at the table, then looked back to Stiles. “Oh yeah, and what about Alex?” she asked, and Stiles smiled fondly at the way Derek was sprawled across the table, grumbling sleepily.

“I see where Alex gets it from,” Stiles said, rubbing Alex’s back before picking up the sippy cup and let it hang from one finger and the bowl on his palm. He passed Talia and went over to the table. He kicked Derek’s chair. “Alright, sleepy, help me feed your offspring, Grumpy.”

Derek mumbled and held out a hand. Stiles rolled his eyes and lowered the bowl until Derek could grab it and put it on the table. Stiles put the cup down beside him and sat down, shuffling Alex to his lap, only to sigh when Alex went limp and sprawled forward onto the table. Talia snickered and Stiles looked between Alex and Derek’s near-identical positions and couldn’t help but smile. Talia shrugged. “Like father like cub?” she suggested and Stiles leaned forward to kiss the back of Alex’s head before pulling him upright, only to let go and for Alex to fall right back to where he was.

“Oh look, the two laziest Hale’s doing what they do best,” a voice said from the doorway. Stiles looked up to see Peter walking in, looking far more awake than anybody else. He had even showered already.

Talia raised an eyebrow. “Up before nine on a Saturday? Who are you and what did you do with my brother?” she asked, then hesitated. “Wait, last time you voluntarily got up early you came to work having eloped. What is it this time?”

“Not divorce, I hope?” Stiles asked, and Peter made a face at him. 

“Ha ha. No, actually, if you were a werewolf, you would know perfectly well my husband and I spent all night reaffirming how happy with our marriage we are,” he said, winking salaciously. 

“Why do you think I’m barely awake?” Derek grumbled, lifting his head just enough to glare at Peter. “Didn’t we soundproof that wall?” he demanded and Peter smirked.

“Married sex gets better the longer you’re married,” he countered.

Stiles groaned, making a face. “I’m so glad I’m human.”

Derek turned to look at him, only to look down at Alex, raising an eyebrow at the cub, who was reaching out and grabbing cheerios absently and dragging them back to his mouth one at a time without lifting his head. “What’s your excuse, huh, Sleepy?” he asked and Talia laughed.

“He’s his father made over, that’s what,” she said, reaching across the table to ruffle Alex’s curls. “You were just the same. Took forever to get you going in the morning.”

Peter hummed, leaning against the counter with a dirty smirk. “Sure doesn’t take much to get my dear husband going in the morning,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Stiles groaned, cringing. “Yep, very happy I’m human.”

Talia made a face. “Thanks, Peter. Definitely needed to know that,” she said flatly.

Peter started to respond, but stopped and smiled towards the doorway. A second later Chris came in, dressed in running clothes. “Sure you’ve got enough strength left for that, Old Man?” Peter asked, and Chris rolled his eyes. 

“Ha ha. That one never gets old,” he said flatly, swatting Peter on the butt when he walked past to the refrigerator.

Peter smirked. “Unlike you,” he said and Chris glared over his shoulder.

“One day I really am going to leave you if you keep calling me old, Peter,” he warned, walking back over with a bottle of water in his hand.

Peter smirked, tugging at Chris’s shirt until he was pressed against his front. “Uh-huh, sure you will,” he said, pulling him in for a kiss. “Who else would take you at your advanced age?”

Stiles snickered. “For the record, my dad was fifty-six when he started dating my best friend’s mom. They’ve been together two years now.”

Peter hummed. “Sheriff Stilinski, right?” He made an appraising face. “You know, I had no idea he’s that old. I’d totally tap that,” he said, and Stiles’s jaw dropped in a scandalized expression.

Chris rolled his eyes and sighed. “Make sure you _really_ want to put up with this jackass before you marry Derek, Stiles, because you’ll have a lifetime of being stuck with Peter, just like me.”

Peter grinned from over Chris’s shoulder. “But you don’t get the perks like Christopher!” He winked. “He only loves me for my body.”

Chris nodded playfully. “Yep, I look good for my age and I’m in really good shape, when he hits forty, I’m upgrading to a younger model,” he said, and Peter glared and swatted at him. 

“Not funny.”

Chris gave him a sappy smile and leaned in to kiss him sweetly. “Totally funny. I’ll be back later,” he said, and Peter waved as he turned to walk out.

“Have a good run, Dear,” Peter replied with a sweet look of his own.

Stiles hummed, raising an eyebrow. “You know,” he said, looking at Derek. “I think I see what you mean. In their own way, they’re actually pretty adorable together,” he said, and Derek scoffed.

“I take it all back after listening to another ‘reminder of why we’re married’ session. I kept waking up to horrible, horrible sounds, Stiles. _Horrible_ ,” he stressed, and Stiles cooed, petting his head.

“Awww, my poor wittle Mate,” he said, then smiled sweetly when Derek glared. “You’re adorable when you’re grumpy.”

“Mmm nooooo.” They both looked down at Alex’s whine, only to crack up when they saw that he had accidently pushed the bowl too far to reach without sitting up. He was pouting in frustration and groping for the cheerios just out of his grasp. “Come back,” he whined and Stiles laughed.

“My poor wittle cub is just like his daddy,” he said, smiling at the bright twinkle in Derek’s eyes as he looked at his son being grumpy too.

Derek sat up and reached out for Alex, pulling him off of Stiles’s lap. “Alright, Sleepy, time to sit up and really eat, no more sleep-eating,” he said, shaking Alex playfully when he whined and made grabby hands at the cheerios.

“Daddy, nooooo!”

“Yesssss,” Derek whined, copying him. “Here, sit up and eat,” he said, putting the bowl in front of Alex before handing him his sippy cup.

Alex leaned back against Derek’s chest and took the cup, drinking from it. He looked at Stiles, and Stiles couldn’t help the sappy grin on his face as he watched Derek and Alex’s identical sleepy eyes on him. “I love you guys,” Stiles said, leaning over to kiss Alex’s head and then Derek’s cheek as he stood up and started to get breakfast for himself.

“I lub you, Sti!” Alex called, and Stiles turned back, smiling brightly the way he had every time Alex said that since he learned how.

Derek laughed and hugged Alex. “See? You’re stuck for good, Stiles. Alex claims you, too.”

Stiles met Derek’s eyes and nodded. “Umkay, I can handle that.”

“Awwwww, can I love you, too,” Peter cooed mockingly and Stiles turned to point a finger at him.

“You’re adopted,” he said, and Talia and Derek both burst out laughing at the surprised look on Peter’s face. Alex looked up, clearly unimpressed with the loud adults as he shoved more cheerios in his mouth. 

As Stiles looked at Alex, at Talia and Peter, and then at Derek, he couldn’t help but think that, yeah, he definitely was okay being part of this family.

**Author's Note:**

> So hey, what do you guys want to see next from this verse? There's a lot of side stories to be told!


End file.
